By Dylan Wolter
Syracuse University
June 10th 2015
COTUIT- A staggering performance from opposing pitcher Nick Deeg (Central Michigan) left Cotuit hitters off balanced and out of sorts all afternoon as the Hyannis Harbor Hawks (2-0) spoiled the Cotuit Kettleers (1-1) home opener by a score of 5-0.
Deeg was able to keep Cotuit Hitters guessing all afternoon; striking out eight while limiting his walks to two. The Kettleers were only able to scratch two hits off Deeg, a stark comparison to the twelve from Hyannis.
Nick Deeg hit his spots with the fastball, especially low in the zone, and was able to mix in a devastating change up that kept hitters honest. He maintained a brilliant tempo in his seven innings pitched. Fans had little time to look down at their popcorn before Deeg was already throwing his next pitch.
“He threw the fastball by us,” Manager Mike Roberts exclaimed with a chuckle, “He threw strikes; he was ahead in the count. When you do that in this league and when you do it in the big leagues, you’re going to win.”
Coach Roberts feels it’s just a matter of practice until the bats come alive, claiming they will work at hitting behind in the count. Count’s such as 1-2 and 0-2 gave Cotuit bat’s fits on Wednesday. Once Deeg got ahead in the count, he was able to put hitters away by having them chase off-speed or getting them to ground out on a fastball low in the zone.
Hitting late in the count is something Coach Roberts will emphasize in the upcoming practices, saying, “We got to work at and we will. We’ll practice it in the morning.”
Tanner Stanley (Richmond), one of two players to collect a hit against Hyannis, acknowledged the excellent pitching from Deeg. Stanley felt Deeg did an excellent job of keeping the ball down and mixed his pitches effectively. He admitted the frustration in a game like this where the bats never came alive, but remained positive.
“We got another one tomorrow,” an upbeat Stanley pronounced, “We’ll be all right.”
The 1-1 Cotuit Kettleers will travel to Bourne tomorrow to face the winless Braves (0-2).